Eight years ago I wrote about installing photovoltaic solar panels on my garage roof: the start of what has since become a full solar battery storage system here in the Alps. It began as a DIY project with plug-and-play microinverters, each one sitting behind two panels, converting DC to AC and feeding straight into a domestic socket. At the time, plenty of people told me this was either impossible or dangerous. It wasn’t either of those things. I was doing it in France, where it was perfectly legal, and the Germans had been doing it for years.

What’s interesting is that the idea has come full circle. These “balcony power stations” are now one of the most popular ways for people to dip their toes into solar. And as I write this, largely thanks to the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the UK government is actively trying to update its electrical codes to allow exactly what I was doing in 2018.

The Original Install: a Learning Process

The original system worked well for several years. Then, one by one, the microinverters started to fail. The culprit was heat: a hot tin roof in an Alpine summer turned out to be a less than ideal environment for electronics. Something well known by experienced installers now. And in fact the manufacturers have updated the units to prevent this. It’s a risk though: if these microinverters fail you have to get up on the roof and remove the panels to get to them, and this can be a pain.

The Chinese supplier communicated well, right up until the point they realised I wasn’t asking about one failed unit, but all of them. At that point, they went quiet. Completely silent. That’s the cautionary tale: when you’re buying from a distant supplier with no local presence. The panels themselves still work. All of them. Panels are robust; it’s the electronics that can let you down.

The new panels on my garage roof

Doing It Properly: Stage One, May 2025

So I decided to start again and this time use a professional installer. Three things to address this time:

1. The 3-phase supply issue (mentioned in the original post): my house runs on 3-phase power, which makes self-consumption trickier to manage
2. A proper inverter installation: accessible and in the cellar rather than on a hot roof
3. Future-proofing for a battery

I used a local company, Leman Solar, who completed the upgrade in two days. The new panels are 440W each, compared to 270W for the old ones. Eleven panels again, but almost twice the output. Technology moves on.

The old panels? I couldn’t face sending them to recycling when they still work perfectly. I had space on my land, so they’ve been given a second life there. It felt like the right thing to do. Plus that is a project I can do myself and it’s easy to tap into the work Leman Solar have done. I did consult with them first!

The old panels ground mounted by my parking

This time the system is app-connected, so I can see exactly what’s being produced, minute by minute, on my phone. It quickly became obvious that 11 x 440W produces far more power than I can use in a house, even charging the car. On a good day the car would be full by mid-afternoon and the surplus was simply going back to the grid. Free, for EDF, but not helping my ROI.

Stage Two: Adding Solar Battery Storage, November 2025

The install had been done with a battery in mind from the start, so six months later a 14 kWh battery went in. In summer the logic is simple: the panels fill the battery during the day, and the battery powers the house in the evening and overnight. Very little, and sometimes nothing, comes from the grid at all.

In winter there isn’t nearly enough sun to fill the battery from the panels alone, but a battery isn’t useless in winter. Mine runs “arbitrage”: charging on the off-peak overnight rate of around 13c/kWh and discharging during the day when power would otherwise cost 21c/kWh. The system is 95% efficient, so the net saving is around 7c per kWh cycled. Not spectacular, but it adds up day in day out.

The Numbers

*Projected full year based on Jan to May

The trend is clear. January savings were 22%: modest, but the battery was already earning its keep on arbitrage alone. By May, we’re saving 61% month on month. As I write this, some days we take no power from the grid at all. The car is charging for free. We expect that to continue until September.

Inverter, battery and fuse board – in the corner of my garage cellar

The costs were 7,000€ for the panels and inverter, and another 7,000€ for the battery, 14,000€ in total. Against a projected annual saving of around 1,300€ (from 3,888€ down to around 2,000€), that’s a simple payback of 10 to 11 years. Remember, this is all my heating, cooking, working from home, and up to 5 people in the house. It includes 20,000 km a year of EV charging. That’s a lot of fuel not bought. At current French pump prices – around 2.03€/L for petrol and 2.20€/L for diesel – 20,000km in a typical SUV would cost somewhere between 3,000€ and 3,600€ in fuel alone. The same distance in the EV costs around 500€ in electricity, and from May to September, with the solar doing its job, it costs close to nothing.

A 10 year payback might sound like a long time, but this equates to an ROI of 10%. You won’t get that in your savings account, in the stock market, or even from property investment. Of course the upside is that with those other investments you can withdraw your money, but if you decide to sell your house you are likely to leave the kit behind. However, low running costs definitely add to the saleability of a property, so I don’t think it is money lost.

What Size Battery Do You Need?

This is a tricky question. The internet will tell you to size a battery to your maximum daily energy use, but I don’t think that works in an Alpine context. Our winter consumption can be extreme: heating, drying kit, short days. If you sized a battery to cover all of that, the cost would be enormous.

A better way to think about it: what do you actually want the battery to do? In summer, even a modest battery will get you through the night on solar alone. In winter, it’s mainly doing arbitrage, and for that a 14 kWh battery is more than adequate. And I am doing this to save money, not for vanity.

The good news is that battery prices have fallen dramatically, roughly five to ten times cheaper per kWh over the past decade, and they continue to fall. So if you’re on the fence about size, buying a system designed to accept a larger battery later is a reasonable approach. They are modular. If the prices fall further, making additional investment worthwhile, I will just buy another “brick” and stack it on what I have.

Three Phase vs Single Phase: Should You Convert?

Many houses in France, particularly ones around here, are on a 3-phase supply. Should you convert to single phase to make the solar install simpler? It’s not easy to answer, so talk to your installer. There are pros and cons either way depending on your specific setup. What I’d say is don’t let it put you off. It can be dealt with; my system handles all three phases, but it needs thinking about from the start, not as an afterthought. I touched on this in the original post; it’s even more relevant now with a battery in the mix.

The Power Cut Problem

Here’s something that surprises people: with a standard grid-tied solar and battery system, you cannot run your house during a power cut. Counterintuitive, I know. You have panels on the roof and a battery in the cellar, and none of it works when the grid goes down. The reason is safety: the system shuts itself off so it doesn’t back-feed the grid while engineers are working on it.

You can get around this with additional equipment, but it costs significantly more. My view is that for most people in the Alps, it isn’t worth it. Our power reliability is genuinely good here. It’s a real consideration if you’re somewhere more remote, but for most of us it’s a theoretical problem rather than a practical one.

Should You Wait for a V2G Electric Car?

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, where your electric car acts as a large battery for your house, is finally arriving properly. Renault has led the way, with both the Mégane E-Tech and Renault 5 now offering V2G capability. In principle, a 40+ kWh car battery that you can discharge into your house in the evening is a compelling proposition. I mentioned this possibility back in 2018 and it’s good to see it finally becoming real.

Should you wait for it? That’s a question of opportunity cost. You could wait: for V2G, for cheaper batteries, for better panels, for whatever comes next. But while you wait, you’re paying full rate for your electricity. The savings I’m making now are real and they compound. Waiting for perfection has a cost.

My Advice

• Start with the battery in mind. An install that isn’t battery-ready costs more to upgrade later.
• Use a local installer with a real guarantee. I know where Leman Solar’s office is. That matters.
• Put the inverter somewhere accessible. The cellar has been perfect.
• Think about 3-phase early. If your house has a 3-phase supply, make sure your installer is across it from day one.

As ever, the EU solar calculator is a great starting point for running your own numbers.

And if you’re in the Haute-Savoie area and want to talk it through, feel free to get in touch. Or directly with Leman Solar at https://www.leman-solar.fr/

Through our commitment to 1% for the Planet, we support local associations that make a real difference in our mountain environment. One of these is ECOTRIVELO, based in Chamonix. They recently shared their 2025 activity report, and the progress they are making with local waste is impressive.

What is ECOTRIVELO?

ECOTRIVELO is an association dedicated to reducing waste in the Chamonix Valley. They focus on biodéchets (organic waste). Instead of sending this waste to be incinerated, they collect it and turn it into compost.

They use a “low-tech” approach. Much of their collection is done using bicycles with trailers. This keeps the process quiet and carbon-neutral.

2025 in Numbers

The association grew significantly last year. Here are the key figures from their report:

• 82 tonnes of organic waste collected and composted.
• 7,350 km travelled by bike to make these collections.
• 43 professional partners, including restaurants like Hôtel l’Alpina and La Maison Carrier, now use their services.
• 9 tonnes were composted directly on-site at various establishments.

More Than Just Collection

ECOTRIVELO does more than just move waste. They are working to change how people think about dirt.

• Education: They held 15 sensibilisation (awareness) sessions for schools and businesses.
• Culture: They launched ECOTRIP, a comedy show about composting, to reach a wider audience through humor.
• Circular Economy: The “ripe” compost is redistributed to local gardeners. In 2025, they even started a bicycle delivery service for the compost.

Looking Forward to 2026

The association has big plans for the coming year. They want to support a new organic market garden (maraîchage bio) in the valley by providing high-quality compost. They are also helping a similar association start up in the neighboring Pays du Mont-Blanc area.

We are proud to see our 1% for the Planet contributions helping ECOTRIVELO grow. They are proving that professional waste management can be local, simple, and effective.

After the whirlwind of the Covid years, the property market across the ski areas of the Haute Savoie has settled down. The initial post-pandemic excitement has faded, and we have entered a more cautious phase. As usual there are many elements that affect the market inflation, interest rates, the weather and general global uncertainty. 

Uncertainty is down

Of course, we’re all living with the uncertainty caused by global politics. Trump continues to do his best to destabilise things, but oddly enough, that sometimes works in favour of property. When markets wobble, money is often moved out of stocks and into bricks and mortar. That’s exactly what we saw recently in Chamonix, where high-value sales spiked – something we’ve seen more than once over the years. In fact overall interest and enquiries were up significantly in April for both francophone and anglophone buyers.

As for the war in Ukraine, are we approaching the end? It’s impossible to say, but the sense is that broader geopolitical concerns like this are weighing less heavily on buyers than they were a year ago. Another positive point is relative stability in the French parliament, and I say relative. But at least it is functioning at the moment.

Interest rates are coming down too

Interest rates are coming down and are forecast to drop further, this makes mortgages cheaper, that is always a strong driver for interest in property. Inflation is easing, so people are less worried about the affordability in the future. That helps too.

Good ski season

We had a good winter in terms of snow, conditions held up well throughout the season. That said, many businesses closed a week or two earlier than usual. With Easter falling late, many of the usual late-season bookings shifted to the south coast instead of the Alps. In the end it was probably an average season for the ski businesses, it felt busier during January but this was probably just the effect of squeezing the usual numbers into a shorter season.

Full time residents VS second homes

The difficulties around living in these ski towns for the full time residents is increasing, so rising house prices and rising rental prices is still rightfully a hot topic. Chamonix has taken a strong stance, with UK headlines suggesting a “ban on second homes.” That’s an exaggeration, there’s no ban, but new planning rules do prioritise the construction of housing for full-time residents. It’s a significant shift, and one to watch.

DPE’s

Then there’s the DPE (Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique)—France’s energy rating system. The state has legislated to tighten the rules, however the practicalities of bringing apartment blocks up to standard have meant that there seems to be some hesitation at government level . Whatever happens, it’s something buyers increasingly need to consider. What’s the current rating? Can it be improved? The answers to those questions will affect both valuations and renovation plans going forward.

Price changes

We’ve now had reliable, data-driven insights into property price trends for several years – a far cry from the more anecdotal market view we relied on in the past. I’ve broken down the data by key areas to highlight notable trends, opportunities, and shifts in buyer demand.

Vallée Verte & Alpes du Léman – A Region on the Rise

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is, where is “up and coming”? A strong candidate is the area between Geneva and Lac Léman. This region benefits from the economic pull of Geneva and access to Swiss salaries, while still offering excellent value for property.

Take Lullin, for example — a picturesque village with all the amenities like an excellent boulangerie, butcher, convenience store, pharmacy, primary school and even a garden centre . Property prices here have risen steadily since 2020, but only by 10%, so still remain very affordable, with average prices between 2,324 € and 2,948 € /m² – less than half the prices seen in the ski resorts.

The main reason? It’s just over an hour from Geneva. So a little too far for a commute. But just down the road in Habère-Poche – which is around 50 minutes from Geneva – prices are appreciably higher at 2,775 € to 3,519 € /m², a 20% premium, and up around 25% since 2020. And that is down to that 10min saved on the commute.

With concrete plans in place for the new A412 motorway linking Thonon to Annemasse, commute times could drop further in villages like this, making this region even more attractive to buyers. The difference a 10-minute commute makes is already evident – and this infrastructure improvement could accelerate that trend.

Portes du Soleil

In Morzine, chalet prices rose strongly up to 2023, then plateaued. Since then, however, they’ve risen more slowly, another 10%, reaffirming their long-term appeal. Expect values of 7 341 – 9 325 € / m² . Apartments have shown steady progress too – with consistent 10% annual growth since 2023. Prices are 6 638 – 8 455 € / m².

This chalet in Montriond is a great example of what’s currently available.

Further down the valley St Jean d’Aulps, Le Biot, and Seytroux experienced more pronounced price increases leading up to 2023, particularly for chalets. Current prices are 4 281 – 5 438 € / m². These have since stabilised, but apartment prices continue to climb, especially for smaller, affordable properties like the ones found in La Grande Terche, which are selling briskly. 4 200 – 4 800 € / m².

In Châtel, the high-end chalet market has seen spectacular growth, with prices doubling since 2020 – most of that surge occurring before 2022. Prices have now stabilised. In contrast, mid-sized apartments (T4) have been far less volatile, rising by a modest 10% since 2020. Current prices range from 4,705 € to 5,998 € /m².

Grand Massif

In Samoëns, T4 apartments have seen a 20% increase in value, with prices ranging from 5,645 € to 7,183 € /m², and continue to trend upwards. Mid-range chalets in Samoëns have seen a 15% increase since 2020, but after 2023 a 10% fall. They are currently at 5 580 – 7 091 € / m²

In Les Carroz, chalet prices have grown by 35% since 2020 and are still climbing, with average prices now between 4,708 € and 6,214 € /m². T4 apartments here have seen a 25% increase, though growth is now slowing somewhat. Prices of apartments currently sit between 4,521 € and 5,756 € /m².

Chamonix

Of course Chamonix remains one of the most desirable areas in the Alps. A T4 apartment in the town centre has increased by 40% since 2020 and is now stable, with prices between 7,327 € and 9,337 € /m².

Mid-sized chalets average 10,009 € to 12,743 € /m², having risen by 50% in recent years. Prices have softened slightly since 2023 but remain stable overall. In Chamonix’s most prestigious neighbourhoods, there’s effectively no price ceiling — €12,000/m² and beyond is common for the highest level of luxury.

Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or simply understand the current market, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us at Alpine Property for tailored advice.

For the past 25 years, we have run Alpine Property, an estate agency in the Northern French Alps, currently we are a team of 16, we all live in the ski areas we cover. Like so many others who live here, we came for the mountains – for the beauty, the environment, the outdoor lifestyle. Yet the reality is, through our business, we encourage people to travel thousands of kilometres to experience the same pleasures. It’s a contradiction that is easier to ignore.

For the last few years we have donated 1% of our turnover to environmental charities. We have done this via 1% for the Planet. So far that has amounted to almost 60,000€.  It’s an important contribution, but I often ask myself – is it the right thing to do? Or is it just Greenwashing? It seems whatever we do, just by living in the environment, we are contributing to its degradation. And in our case, the simple act of facilitating travel and tourism puts us a long way from being carbon neutral.

Our donations are not capped, and they don’t depend on whether we make a profit. Even in tough years, like 2024/2025 we give. Company profits don’t always have to end up in the shareholders’ pockets. But even with these efforts, I’ve struggled throughout my career with the knowledge that what I do helps to degrade the environment I love.

This tension has been a constant thread in my life. I studied Fuel and Energy Engineering in the early 90s, although I focused on wind powered turbines, I could not escape the main part of the course which was how to crush and burn coal. My first job was offshore in the oil and gas industry. Even then, I was a member of Greenpeace. I appreciate the effort and sacrifices from the likes of Swampy in the 90’s and Just Stop Oil now (though I read that they are about to become extinct). I’m willing to give a little money to encourage others but I’m not willing to go to prison myself. Is this wrong? After University, I became a Police Officer – a role full of contradictions too, where you must not lose sight of the bigger picture despite the actions of a minority or your colleagues.

When I ran a mountain biking holiday company, I promoted an eco-friendly activity – but relied on EasyJet flights to bring people to us. Once again, good intentions clashed with the realities of tourism.

At Alpine Property, we have always tried to be honest about these contradictions.We speak openly about the costs of travel and tourism, and the damage they can cause. But we support local groups like Montagne Verte, who work to reduce tourism’s impact locally. EcotriVelo who cycle around Chamonix collecting bio waste and turn it into compost and Rêve d’abeilles who educate people in the importance of looking after our pollinators (full disclosure, they do give us some honey in return to say thanks).

So what can we do, realistically? Giving money is one step. Educating ourselves and others is another. But action matters too: encouraging visitors to travel by train rather than plane; working with second-home owners to become active members of the community; pushing resorts and tourist offices to make sustainability a real priority.

These measures are not perfect. They are not the answer. But they are our answer- for now. And we are determined to keep evolving.

We will keep at it. We need more businesses to act. Real change will only happen when many companies, across the valley and beyond, move in the same direction.

I have three children, born, raised, and educated here. Their future depends on the health of this environment, but also on the health of our communities. Overtourism, climate change, and short-term thinking threaten both.

We live with contradictions. There’s no easy way to resolve them. But doing something – however imperfect – is still better than doing nothing at all.